Tidfall

Instinct Gate (Nuclear Blast)
by Scott Hefflon

Every genre needs opening bands, and Tidfall fit the black metal opening slot nicely. Instinct Gate is the band’s second, they experiment a little here’n’there in a cute’n’scary way, but even killer production (courtesy of Akkerhaugen Lydstudio, of Emperor, Zyklon, and Myrskog infamy) and a tip of the battle axe from Zamoth and Nocturnal Arts aren’t enough to distinguish this.

They aren’t about to replace anyone on the throne, but if they continue to hammer away at the clichés (or fumble with the basic building blocks, to use a more, um, constructive metaphor), they might just get sick of the obvious and create something interesting.
(2323 W. El Segundo Blvd. Hawthorne, CA 90250)